The dispute over Preah Vihear temple dates back a century Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Frances Harrison
Religious affairs reporter
BBC News
Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to lay aside a century-long dispute over a temple complex on their border.
Both countries want to push for United Nations World Heritage status for the site.
The Preah Vihear Hindu temple was built in the 11th and 12th centuries on the top of mountains that form the Thai-Cambodian border.
But the exact position of the border has been disputed, and the complex has one entrance in each country.
Thailand's Prime Minister has returned from a visit to Cambodia promising to back attempts to register the temple area, but not the surrounding land, as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Colonial-era dispute
Last year the UN ruled against world heritage status for the temple - some assumed this was because Thailand blocked Cambodia's application, although both countries deny this.
The dispute dates back a century.
A joint border demarcation team set up by the Kingdom of Siam and the French colonial authorities placed the temple inside Cambodia.
At the end of French colonial rule in Cambodia the Thais occupied the temple, with the result that the dispute landed in the International Court of Justice.
The Thais argued that the border was supposed to follow the watershed line of the mountains, in which case the temple would have been theirs.
The Thais also said they had never bothered to dispute the map because to access the temple from the Cambodian side required scaling a 500-metre (547-yeard) high cliff, so in practice they always had possession.
The court ruled in favour of Cambodia, but fighting with the Khmer Rouge meant it was only in 1998 that the temple opened to the public.
Now Cambodia has built a road up the cliff to reach the temple that has plagued relations with Thailand for so long.
Both countries want to push for United Nations World Heritage status for the site.
The Preah Vihear Hindu temple was built in the 11th and 12th centuries on the top of mountains that form the Thai-Cambodian border.
But the exact position of the border has been disputed, and the complex has one entrance in each country.
Thailand's Prime Minister has returned from a visit to Cambodia promising to back attempts to register the temple area, but not the surrounding land, as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Colonial-era dispute
Last year the UN ruled against world heritage status for the temple - some assumed this was because Thailand blocked Cambodia's application, although both countries deny this.
The dispute dates back a century.
A joint border demarcation team set up by the Kingdom of Siam and the French colonial authorities placed the temple inside Cambodia.
At the end of French colonial rule in Cambodia the Thais occupied the temple, with the result that the dispute landed in the International Court of Justice.
The Thais argued that the border was supposed to follow the watershed line of the mountains, in which case the temple would have been theirs.
The Thais also said they had never bothered to dispute the map because to access the temple from the Cambodian side required scaling a 500-metre (547-yeard) high cliff, so in practice they always had possession.
The court ruled in favour of Cambodia, but fighting with the Khmer Rouge meant it was only in 1998 that the temple opened to the public.
Now Cambodia has built a road up the cliff to reach the temple that has plagued relations with Thailand for so long.
12 comments:
I am very happy to see us working together to develop the area to benefit all our brothers and sisters on both sides of the fence.
Here, I must say, "two minds is better than one."
The Thaicong must not be allowed to turn Khmer Preah Vihear temple into Vatican City!
The Thaicong want to use the "watershed line of the mountains" as their border markers base on what? There are hundred and thousand of waterways in Cambodia and so the fucken Thaicong can those waterways as their border markers too? No! NO!
The issue here what belong to Cambodia will belong to Cambodia and it doesn't matter where the fucken waterways exist!
Two Khmer minds work together is good but when Khmer mind work with the Thaicong and the Vietcong and it is fuck up for Cambodian sovereignty!
To all Khmer people and please stay away from the Thaicong and the Vietcong theory and logic and it had been tested over and over again that Khmer people will continue to lose more then to gain anything from the Thaicong or the Vietcong! It is such a shame to learn that Cambodia is the poorest country in the world and Cambodia happen to be located right between Thailame and Vietname and Cambodian leaders are their puppet and for being a puppet that Cambodian leaders will have to follow the Thaicong and the Vietcong policy, theory, and logic!
The Things you don’t know can hurt you!
The Things you know and you can take step to protect yourself!
What? How can you ask us to stay away from our brothers? Can you stay away from your own brother?
Is sounds so hypocrite?
Furthermore, people on both sides of the fence in that area are very Khmer, and as such, they deserved to benefit from our ancestors work as well.
To 1:09PM
It is you who claimed that the Thaicong are Khmer brother! But the Thaicong never once said or want to be associated with any Khmer people including a fool like you unless you are a Thaicong speaking on the behalf of the Thaicong government!
I welcome million of Khmer people who currently are living anywhere in Thailame because these Khmer people share the same experience like other the Khmer people and they are the victim of the Thaicong relentless aggression and for their identification as Khmer people and the Thaicong racist policy deny them to live as human and they are the poorest of the poor who are living at the bottom of the Thaicong society!
The Khmer people must not be drown in the sweet words and the sweet persuasion of the Thaicong because it is the Thaicong nature to wage political warfare to eliminate the Khmer people identity by claiming that everything Khmer people have and it is all came from them and they even deny the existence of the Khmer people! This is sound outrageous but it is true!
3:09, look harder; do you see many Khmer-Thai resent living in Thailand with what you called Thaicong.
The truth is Khmer and Khmer-Thai had some differences just as you have some differences among your own brothers and sisters.
And if the Thai-Khmer had no resentment against Thaicong, why should we be?
To 4:02PM
From time to time I certainly have some differences with my brothers and sisters but I certainly don't kill them for any disagreement!
For the fucken Thaicong they see the Khmer race as their competitor or enemy that is why it is easy for them to kill any Khmer people without a second thought that Khmer is their brothers and sisters!
By my definition the word Thaicong refer to the Thai leaders and the Thai population who are none Khmer! You better get this concept straight in your head!
The Thaicong need to understand that what they want is what Khmer want!
Nice tried, 11:46, but if what you said is true, why is it that so many Khmer-Thai still around and very proud of themselves?
Can you help me understand the wicked Thaicong?
There is nothing wrong for the Khmer in Thailame to be proud of who they are!
The Thaicong are fucken wicked because they see the Khmer people as different race, the competitor, and enemy! The day the fucken Thaicong stop killing the Khmer people and I might change my mind but for now the fucken Thaicong can go to hell for what they have done to the Khmer people!
Come on, dude, only Hollywood will go for your story.
Fact of the matter is Khmer and Khmer-Thai was one, once upon a time. Then we broke off due to whatever reason -- and don't expect our king and queen to tell us the reason either -- and in our battle the Khmer-Thai got the Thaicong behind them and we end up in deep shit.
But that is history now, it is time to start a new chapter together again. That is what our ancestors would have wanted.
Many people think the Khmer Empire was history, but is it really? Look hard.
To 2:57PM
Shut the fuck fool! I was deported 5 times back to enemy line to be killed or starve to death but I guess luck found me and eventually I evaded the Thaicong soldiers at night to go into United Nations refugee Camp along Thaicong-Khmer border for safety!
The way these fucken Thaicong treated Khmer refugee and I will never forget as long as live! This isn’t Hollywood movie mother fucker! I am one of the lucky few!
Well, there are a few bad apples on every tree, and we ain't gonna cut no tree down because of that.
It wasn't few bad apples but it was a well organize military planning by the Thaicong government to make Cambodian people suffer and humiliated!
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